Should I Replace Tuners? (Vintage Martin)

Super_Dave

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Hi all, I'm looking for some inputs here.

I just bought a vintage (40s or 50s) Martin Soprano on eBay.
It's not in perfect shape, but it for the $310 I paid it's perfect.

Only thing is that I really don't like the tuners. They work (don't slip, etc), but they're just so imprecise compared to the geared tuners I'm used to on my PonoPC.

I imagine there are two real camps here: "never mess with a vintage uke", and "you bought it to play it, so just do what makes it more fun to play."

I have every reason to believe this uke is a player and not worth anything more than I paid for it. It sounds amazing (my first old Martin - it's blowing me away actually), but I don't think it's a real COLLECTOR.

So I'm toying with putting some Gotoh UPTs on it so it's better to tune and play.

Just wondering what you all would do in my place...

Here's the uke, if you're curious: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-ma...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649
 
Do what makes you happy with it. It's your baby.


Right! If there's something you don't like, change it. This is not a Rembrandt that's going to increase in value over the years. Get a set of Gotoh tuners ($59 plus shipping) from HMS or put a better quality Grover set on it. Ask here for advice about which Grovers are worth getting.

That's beauty. FYI - Martin sopranos have the G and A strings wound from the outside in, unlike other uke makers. I see yours has one outside and one inside.
 
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I have the same uke & tuners. Those tulips, Keystones or whatever you want to call them look pretty, but as you say, are a pain to get to the right note, since they have no washers on back. From what I can see, a washer can't be added, since there is a little cone shaped hole which the button sticks into. I bought a set of Pings, and they dropped right in, even allowing me to reuse the original washers on the front. They work much better: still frictions, but smooth & accurate. I'd still prefer UPTs, but didn't want to enlarge the holes on such a fine old vintage uke. Best thing is, you can put the old tuners back on easily, if you ever decide to. Here's my before/during/after pics. If they are too stark white for you, you could apply and quickly remove some Kiwi Brown shoe polish, which would darken them nicely, I didn't bother.

https://www.amazon.com/Ping-P2698-U...8&qid=1524687095&sr=8-2&keywords=ping+ukulele

tuners.jpg
ping1.jpg
ping3.jpg
 
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I like the idea of replacing them with tuners that don't need hole enlargement. Those pings look good and those StewMac tuners look really good.

Would I need to enlarge the holes for the StewMac tuners do you think?
 
EDW, I just emailed Elderly. Thanks for the advice. I'll let you know what they say.

Spongeuke, I couldn't agree more. Don't worry, there will be no ears. I love the look it has now for sure. The Waverly tuners EDW linked might just be the ticket...
 
I have a similar Martin style 2 uke with the same tuners and it really has the best sound of all my sopranos. I assume late 40's. my frets are a little sharp but the sound is so sweet and punchy. I seem to gravitate toward Worth browns and they sound wonderful on this uke. Congrats on he great buy!
 
I have two of these, one is the style 0, like yours and the other is a style 1. Those tuners take some practice to get used to and I have kept mine and can tune it pretty easily now, after several years. Having said that, I did put the waverly friction tuners on another uke and they much easier to tune and look great.
 
I'll admit, I put Grover geared tuners (nickel with black buttons) on my Martin S-1 recently. With the black buttons, the "ears" effect isn't bad at all, really, and I like the sense of familiarity and confidence that geared tuners give me. I guess you could say that I opted for those features ahead of tradition. Now, to clarify, there wasn't a thing wrong with the friction tuners that the uke came with; as with so many things, it's all about personal preference.
 
I have the same uke & tuners. Those tulips, Keystones or whatever you want to call them look pretty, but as you say, are a pain to get to the right note, since they have no washers on back. From what I can see, a washer can't be added, since there is a little cone shaped hole which the button sticks into. I bought a set of Pings, and they dropped right in, even allowing me to reuse the original washers on the front. They work much better: still frictions, but smooth & accurate. I'd still prefer UPTs, but didn't want to enlarge the holes on such a fine old vintage uke. Best thing is, you can put the old tuners back on easily, if you ever decide to. Here's my before/during/after pics. If they are too stark white for you, you could apply and quickly remove some Kiwi Brown shoe polish, which would darken them nicely, I didn't bother.

The "keystone" tuners are pretty fantastic little tuners in my experience. And you would never want to put a washer in the back as they are somewhat bulbus shaped and sit in sort of a "bowl" cut into the back of the headstock. This gives a good amount of surface area for friction.

Many people find that older tuners cannot be tightened enough to hold, and the go-to solution is to put in a washer or spacer to get them tighter. However, a better solution is to file off the end of the screw a little bit as the real issue is the screw bottoming out - therefore not being able to tighten sufficiently.

Most friction tuners are able to get back into top shape just by removing, cleaning all surfaces making sure you have no buildup or dirt, checking the screw length and then re-assembling.

About the only hard to fix issue would be if the shaft is a poor or wobbly fit in the tuner button. That's where the imprecise feel tends to come from. That's totally fixable too, but a little more involved.

All that said, UPTs are great, and PegHeds are a fine look on a classic Martin.
 
That's a lot nicer than mine, 'course mine's a 1930's. I've debated with myself whether to change the tuners also, they work, yes, but I actually have a set of UPT's. Suppose I'll have to drill out the holes...
 
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